Early life and career
Butterick grew up in mid-Canterbury, and began his agricultural career as a shepherd in Canterbury. He moved to the Wairarapa region in 1990 and bought a property there in 1995, where he farms sheep and beef. He is the Meat and Wool Chair of the Wairarapa branch of Federated Farmers, and is also a director of Wings over Wairarapa. Butterick has been a spokesperson for the rural lobby group Fifty Shades of Green, which campaigns against the conversion of sheep farms to forestry. He says the group are concerned about the social, environmental and economic effects on rural communities of increased forestry. Butterick tried to convert a farm he owned in Te Wharau to a national park, but when that failed and it did not sell as a farm, he sold it to a forestry company.
Political career
Butterick was selected as the National Party candidate for the Wairarapa electorate in May 2020, following incumbent MP Alastair Scott's decision to retire. He got 34.42% of the vote and was defeated by Kieran McAnulty. Ranked 58th on National's list in 2020, he did not enter Parliament.
On 18 March 2023, Butterick was selected to contest Wairarapa again for the 2023 election. He was placed in 61st position on the 2023 party list. On election night he defeated incumbent McAnulty by a margin of 2,816 votes.
Following a cabinet reshuffle in early April 2026, Butterick became the Minister for Land Information and the associate Minister of Agriculture.
In early June 2026, Butterick attracted media attention after he distributed swag bags containing National Party merchandise including stationery, notebooks, lunchboxes and mints at several schools in his Wairarapa electorate. Several parents complained to the Ministry of Education that Butterick was engaged in electoral campaigning on school grounds. The Ministry subsequently clarified that schools could support learning about politics but could not engage in political promotion and electoral campaigning on school grounds. In response, Butterick denied he was campaigning and said he had received approval from the Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He said that the merchandise served as a way for providing his contact details to constituents through students and their families.
During the 2026 New Zealand general election scheduled for 7 November, Butterick stood as National's candidate in the Wairarapa electorate.
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